Adaptive transmission of resource utilization messages

ABSTRACT

An adaptive scheme controls the transmission of interference management messages by wireless nodes. For example, the adaptive scheme may be used to determine whether and/or how to transmit resource utilization messages. Such a determination may be based on, for example, comparison of a quality of service threshold with a current quality of service level associated with received data. A quality of service threshold may be adapted based on the effect of previously transmitted resource utilization messages. A quality of service threshold for a given wireless node may be adapted based on the frequency at which the wireless node transmits resource utilization messages. A quality of service threshold for a given wireless node may be adapted based on information received from another wireless node. An adaptation scheme also may depend on the type of traffic received by a given wireless node. A quality of service threshold also may be adapted based on throughput information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to concurrently filed and commonly ownedU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/021,215, entitled “ADAPTIVETRANSMISSION OF RESOURCE UTILIZATION MESSAGES BASED ON THROUGHPUT,” thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This application relates generally to wireless communication and morespecifically, but not exclusively, to an adaptive scheme fortransmitting resource utilization messages.

2. Introduction

Deployment of a wireless communication system typically involvesimplementing some form of interference mitigation scheme. In somewireless communication systems, interference may be caused byneighboring wireless nodes. As an example, in a cellular system wirelesstransmissions of a cell phone or a base station of a first cell mayinterfere with communication between a cell phone and a base station ofa neighboring cell. Similarly, in a Wi-Fi network, wirelesstransmissions of an access terminal or an access point of a firstservice set may interfere with communication between an access terminaland a base station of a neighboring service set.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0105574, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a system wherefair-sharing of a wireless channel may be facilitated by jointscheduling of a transmission by transmitting and receiving nodes throughthe use of a resource utilization message (“RUM”). Here, a transmittingnode may request a set of resources based on knowledge of resourceavailability in its neighborhood and a receiving node may grant therequest based on knowledge of resource availability in its neighborhood.For example, the transmitting node may determine channel availability bylistening to receiving nodes in its vicinity and the receiving node maydetermine potential interference by listening to transmitting nodes inits vicinity.

In the event the receiving node is subjected to interference fromneighboring transmitting nodes, the receiving node may transmit a RUM inan attempt to cause the neighboring transmitting nodes to limit theirinterfering transmissions. According to related aspects, a RUM may beweighted to indicate not only that a receiving node is disadvantaged(e.g., due to the interference it sees while receiving) and desires acollision avoidance mode of transmission, but also the degree to whichthe receiving node is disadvantaged.

A transmitting node that receives a RUM may utilize the fact that it hasreceived a RUM, as well as the weight thereof, to determine anappropriate response. For example, the transmitting node may elect toabstain from transmitting, may reduce its transmit power during one ormore designated timeslots, or may ignore the RUM. The advertisement ofthe RUMs and associated weights may thus provide a collision avoidancescheme that is fair to all nodes in the system.

SUMMARY

A summary of sample aspects of the disclosure follows. It should beunderstood that any reference to the term aspects herein may relate toone or more aspects of the disclosure.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to attempting to achieve anoptimum level of performance in a wireless communication system. Here,system performance may relate to utilization of wireless resources(e.g., spectral efficiency), quality of service (“QoS”), or some otherperformance-related criteria.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to mitigating interference in awireless communication system. For example, in some aspects an adaptivescheme is utilized to control the transmission of interferencemanagement messages (e.g., resource utilization messages) by wirelessnodes.

Here, the adaptive scheme may be used to determine whether and/or how totransmit the resource utilization messages. Such a determination may bebased on, for example, comparison of a threshold representative of adesired level of quality of service with a current level of quality ofservice level associated with received data. For example, resourceutilization messages may be transmitted if the current quality ofservice level falls below this quality of service threshold. Here,quality of service may relate to data throughput, data latency,interference, or some other related parameter.

In some aspects a quality of service threshold may be adapted based onthe effect of previously transmitted resource utilization messages. Forexample, in the event the previous transmission of resource utilizationmessages by a wireless node improved a quality of service level at thatnode, the quality of service threshold may be increased. In this way,the wireless node may potentially transmit resource utilization messagesmore often in an attempt to improve the quality of service at thatwireless node. Conversely, if the transmission of resource utilizationmessages did not improve the quality of service, the wireless node maylower the threshold so that fewer resource utilization messages aretransmitted.

In some aspects a quality of service threshold for a given wireless nodemay be adapted based on the frequency at which the wireless nodetransmits resource utilization messages. For example, if there is thatan increase in the frequency of resource utilization messagetransmissions, the quality of service threshold may be decreased. Inthis way, the wireless node elect to transmit fewer resource utilizationmessages since the transmission of a large number of resourceutilization messages may not proportionally improve the quality ofservice level at the wireless node, yet may adversely affect theavailability of system resources for other nodes.

In some aspects a quality of service threshold for a given wireless nodemay be adapted based on information received from another wireless node.For example, a first wireless node may adapt its quality of servicethreshold based on information it receives from a second wireless noderelating to resource utilization messages received by the secondwireless node. As another example, a first wireless node may adapt itsquality of service threshold based on information (e.g., transmit-sideresource utilization messages) it receives from a neighboringtransmitting node regarding transmissions by that transmitting node.

In some aspects different adaptation schemes are employed for differenttypes of traffic received by a given wireless node. For example, aquality of service threshold for one type of traffic may be adapted in adifferent manner than a quality of service threshold for another type oftraffic.

In some aspects a quality of service threshold may be adapted based onthroughput information. For example, a quality of service threshold maybe set to a median of the throughput rates of all of the wireless nodesin the associated wireless sector. Alternatively, a quality of servicethreshold may be set to a median of the median throughput rates of a setof neighboring wireless sectors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other sample aspects of the disclosure will be described inthe detailed description and the appended claims that follow, and in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of several sample aspects of a wirelesscommunication system;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of interferencemitigation operations that may be performed in conjunction withreceiving data;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of areceiving node;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to adapt a quality of service threshold based on an effectof transmitted resource utilization messages;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to adapt a quality of service threshold based on afrequency of resource utilization messages;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to adapt a quality of service threshold based on resourceutilization message information received from a wireless node;

FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram illustrating several sample RSTadaptation curves;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to adapt a quality of service threshold based on localthroughput;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed in conjunction with transmitting a resource utilizationmessage;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are flowcharts of several sample aspects of operationsthat may be performed to adapt a quality of service threshold based onshared throughput input information;

FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofcommunication components; and

FIGS. 12 and 13 are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspectsof apparatuses configured to adapt transmission of interferencemitigation messages as taught herein.

In accordance with common practice the various features illustrated inthe drawings may not be drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions ofthe various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.In addition, some of the drawings may be simplified for clarity. Thus,the drawings may not depict all of the components of a given apparatus(e.g., device) or method. Finally, like reference numerals may be usedto denote like features throughout the specification and figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described below. It should beapparent that the teachings herein may be embodied in a wide variety offorms and that any specific structure, function, or both being disclosedherein is merely representative. Based on the teachings herein oneskilled in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. Furthermore,an aspect may comprise at least one element of a claim. As an example ofthe above, in some aspects a method of wireless communication maycomprise adapting a quality of service threshold based on a set ofresource utilization messages. In addition, in some aspects theadaptation of the quality of service threshold may cause more frequenttransmissions of resource utilization messages if the transmission ofresource utilization messages improves quality of service associatedwith data flows.

FIG. 1 illustrates several sample aspects of a wireless communicationsystem 100. The system 100 includes several wireless nodes, generallydesignated as nodes 102 and 104. A given node may receive and/ortransmit one or more traffic flows (e.g., data flows). For example, eachnode may comprise at least one antenna and associated receiver andtransmitter components. In the discussion that follows the termreceiving node may be used to refer to a node that is receiving and theterm transmitting node may be used to refer to a node that istransmitting. Such a reference does not imply that the node is incapableof performing both transmit and receive operations.

A node may be implemented in various ways. For example, in someimplementations a node may comprise an access terminal, a relay point,or an access point. Referring to FIG. 1, the nodes 102 may compriseaccess points or relay points and the nodes 104 may comprise accessterminals. In some implementations the nodes 102 facilitatecommunication between the nodes of a network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network, acellular network, or a WiMax network). For example, when an accessterminal (e.g., an access terminal 104A) is within a coverage area of anaccess point (e.g., an access point 102A) or a relay point, the accessterminal 104A may thereby communicate with another device of the system100 or some other network that is coupled to communicate with the system100. Here, one or more of the nodes (e.g., node 102B) may comprise awired access point that provides connectivity to another network ornetworks (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet).

In some aspects two or more nodes of the system 100 (e.g., nodes of acommon independent service set) associate with one another to establishtraffic flows between the nodes via one or more communication links. Forexample, the nodes 104A and 104B may associate with one another viacorresponding access points 102A and 102C. Thus, one or more trafficflows may be established to and from access terminal 104A via accesspoint 102A and one or more traffic flows may be established to and fromaccess terminal 104B via access point 102C.

In some cases, several nodes in the system 100 may attempt to transmitat the same time (e.g., during the same timeslot). Depending on therelative locations of the transmitting and receiving nodes and thetransmit power of the transmitting nodes, it may be possible to reliablyconduct such concurrent communications. Under these circumstances, thewireless resources of the system 100 may be well utilized as comparedto, for example, a system that simply uses a carrier sense multipleaccess (“CSMA”) mode of operation.

Under other circumstances, however, wireless transmissions from a nodein the system 100 may interfere with reception at a non-associated nodein the system 100. For example, the node 104B may be receiving from thenode 102C (as represented by a wireless communication symbol 106A) atthe same time that a node 102D is transmitting to a node 104C (asrepresented by a symbol 106B). Depending on the distance between thenodes 104B and 102D and the transmission power of the node 102D,transmissions from the node 102D (as represented by a dashed symbol106C) may interfere with reception at the node 104B.

To mitigate interference such as this, the nodes of a wirelesscommunication system may employ an inter-node messaging scheme. Forexample, a receiving node that is experiencing interference may transmita resource utilization message (“RUM”) to indicate that the node isdisadvantaged in some way. A neighboring node that receives the RUM(e.g., a potential interferer) may elect to limit its futuretransmissions in some way to avoid interfering with the RUM-sending node(i.e., the receiving node that sent the RUM). Here, a decision by areceiving node to transmit a RUM may be based, at least in part, onquality of service associated with data received at that node. Forexample, a receiving node may transmit a RUM in the event the currentlevel of quality of service for one or more of its links or flows fallsbelow a desired quality of service level. Conversely, the node may nottransmit a RUM if the quality of service is acceptable.

In the discussion that follows, a quality of service level that that isused to determine whether to transmit RUMs may be referred to as a RUMsending threshold (“RST”). For example, in some implementations a nodemay send a RUM in the event the quality of service associated with oneor more links or data flows of the node falls below a designated RSTvalue.

In practice, a node may have several links that are active at the sametime. In this case, the node may send a single RUM based on the qualityof service of all of the links. For example, in some implementations anode (or, in some cases, an access point associated with the node) maydefine an RST for each of the node's links. The node may thus determinea quality of service metric for each link and compare each quality ofservice metric with a corresponding RST. A decision to send a RUM maythen be based on whether any one of the links is not meeting its desiredquality of service. Here, the weighting factor (i.e., weight) accordedthe RUM may correspond to the weight of the most disadvantaged link(e.g., the highest of the weights).

It should be appreciated that other RUM sending schemes may be employedwhen a node has several active links. For example, a node may transmitRUMs for each link, a node may provide a collective quality of servicemetric and RST for all of the links, or the node may send RUMs based onother criteria such as data throughput, data latency, interference, orsome other related parameter.

In the event a node has several active flows, the node (or associatedaccess point if the node is an access terminal) may define an RST foreach flow. For example, a voice call may be associated with an RST of 40kbps, while a video call may have an RST of 200 kbps. Here, the RST maybe normalized over the bandwidth used by the system. When a flow isintroduced in the network, each link in its path may be augmented by itsRST. Thus the RST of a link may be the sum of the RSTs of all the flowsthat pass through it. The weight of the RUM may then be calculated asdiscussed above.

In some implementations a node may elect to send a RUM if any one of itsflows is not meeting its desired quality of service. In this case, anode may determine a quality of service metric for each flow and compareeach quality of service metric with a corresponding RST. Here, theweight accorded the RUM may correspond to the weight of the mostdisadvantaged flow (e.g., the highest of the weights).

Again, it should be appreciated that other RUM sending schemes may beemployed here. For example, a node may transmit RUMs for each flow, anode may provide a collective quality of service metric and RST for allof the flows, or the node may send RUMs based on other criteria.

If the RSTs of the nodes in a system are reasonably achievable, the RUMscheme may ensure that all of the links in the system achieve theirdesired quality of service. Here, any extra resources may be utilized bythe links with a good carrier-to-interference ratio (“C/I”). In otherwords, these links may achieve quality of service levels (e.g.,throughput levels) that are higher than their desired quality ofservice.

In contrast, if the RSTs are set to inappropriate levels, the system maysettle at a sub-optimal equilibrium. The function of an RST for a nodemay, in a sense, be interpreted in two ways. To media access control(“MAC”) and higher layers, the RST may function as a metric of thequality of service that is desired for one or more links or flows. Tothe physical (“PHY”) layer, the RST may function as a value that causesa node to switch from simultaneous sharing of the channel to, forexample, CSMA-like access where each node shuts off all its neighbors.In some cases, these two functions of RST are in conflict with oneanother. As a result, the transmission of RUMs by nodes in a system maybenefit the corresponding nodes under some circumstances, but not in allcircumstances (e.g., when the transmission of RUMs adversely affects theoverall performance of the system). A few specific examples followrelating to issues that may arise in conjunction with selecting properRSTs.

If the RSTs are set to unachievable levels (e.g., they are set toohigh), some or all of the links may always be disadvantaged. As aresult, the corresponding receiving nodes may continually send out RUMs.This, in turn, may shut down or limit transmissions by other nodes inthe system, thereby bringing down the overall throughput of the system.Here, when a large number of nodes are continually sending RUMs, thesystem effectively operates in a CSMA mode of operation. In some cases,due to the weights associated with the RUMs, the system may stillachieve a relatively fair allocation of the resources between nodes(e.g., as indicated by the ratio of the RSTs), even though overallsystem throughput is less than optimum. In practice, however, a moreoptimal level of system performance may be achieved by providing somedegree of resource sharing. For example, by sharing resources, it may bepossible to achieve improvements both in the cumulative quality ofservice of the system and the quality of service at each node (or ofeach link, flow, etc) in the system.

In some cases a node may be unable to meet its desired quality ofservice even after sending RUMs. This condition may occur, for example,because the transmitting and receiving nodes are so far apart that thedesired rates cannot be met, even with negligible interference. Thiscondition also may occur, for example, when there are too many accessterminals connected to an access point. In this case, the traffic loaditself may become the bottleneck. In such cases, it may prove beneficialto drop the quality of service (e.g., by lowering RST) for one or morenodes, links, flows, etc., to limit the number of RUMs transmitted bythese nodes, and thereby improve quality of service for other nodes,links, flows, etc., in the system.

In cases where the RSTs in the system are set too low, all or most ofthe links in the system will always achieve their desired quality ofservice. In this case, the nodes will not send out any RUMs.Consequently, the nodes will be free to transmit simultaneously. In thiscase, the throughput that is achieved in the system will beinterference-limited. Depending on the location and interferenceenvironment of the nodes, this may yield an unfair distribution ofresources.

Proper selection of an RST also may depend on the types of trafficcarried by the system. For example, to ensure reliable operation offixed rate traffic channels (e.g., control channels), a specificthroughput may need to be maintained. Also, certain nodes may havehigher traffic requirements because they may be aggregating a largeamount of traffic. This may be particularly true if a wireless backhaulis used in a tree like architecture and a node that is close to the rootof the tree is being scheduled. Accordingly, from a peak-rateperspective or for delay-intolerant service, it may be beneficial toallow a node to burst at a rate higher than what that node couldotherwise achieve with simultaneous transmissions.

In view of the above, from a system efficiency standpoint, it may bedesirable for the nodes of a system to set their respective RSTs tofavor simultaneous transmissions or collision avoidance depending onwhich mode achieves the best system performance under currentconditions. Accordingly, the wireless nodes in a system or associatedaccess points may be configured to dynamically adapt the respective RSTsbased on, for example, congestion feedback from the network. Here, bychanging RST, the ability of a node, link, flow, etc., may be altered tocontend during periods of congestion.

The adaptation of an RST for a given node or several nodes may affectsystem performance in different ways under different circumstances. Insome aspects, adaptation of an RST for a given node in the system mayimprove the quality of service for data received by that node. Forexample, in some cases increasing an RST may cause a node to send moreRUMs, thereby increasing the likelihood that the node will have moreaccess to system resources (e.g., timeslots). In some aspects theadaptation of the RSTs of the nodes in a system may improve the overallperformance (e.g., throughput, spectral efficiency, etc.) of the system.For example, when the transmission of RUMs is not improving quality ofservice at a given node to an appreciable degree, it may be moreadvantageous from a system perspective to reduce the RST at that node toenable other nodes in the system to gain more access to systemresources.

As mentioned above, quality of service may relate to throughput,latency, interference (e.g., C/I), or some other suitable parameter.Consequently, in some aspects an RST may define a minimum datathroughput rate that is desired for one or more data links or dataflows. In some aspects an RST may define a maximum data propagationlatency period that is desired for one or more data links or data flows.In some aspects a threshold value may define a maximum level ofinterference that is acceptable for one or more data links or dataflows.

In some aspects, an RST may be normalized. For example, an RSTthroughput value may be defined in terms of normalized bits (e.g.,corresponding to b/s/Hz). As a specific example, an RST of 0.4 b/s/Hzcomputed over a 20 MHz channel and a 1 ms timeslot size implies that thelink desires a quality of service of 0.4×20×10⁶×1×10⁻³=8000 bits everytimeslot.

An initial value for RST may be selected based on various criteria. Forexample, for applications that require a minimum quality of service(e.g., maximum latency or minimum throughput), an initial RST may bebased on this criteria.

In some applications, an initial RST value may be set based on anestimate of an acceptable level of quality of service that is expectedto be achievable in the system. For example, an initial RST value may bedefined in a similar manner as forward link edge spectral efficiency isdefined in planned cellular systems where the cell edge spectralefficiency indicates the throughput that an edge user terminal wouldachieve if the base transceiver station were to transmit to that userterminal, with the neighboring user terminals being on all the time.Cell edge geometries in planned CDMA systems may range from, forexample, around −6 dB to −10 dB. Assuming a 4 dB gap to capacity, celledge spectral efficiencies may thus be defined in the range of 0.05 to0.1 b/s/Hz.

In an RST-based system, a node may transition to a collision avoidancemode in the event the throughput with simultaneous transmissions isworse than the throughput specified by the initial RST value. Here,switching to a collision avoidance mode may not necessarily yield thedesired throughput because that minimum throughput may be unachievable.However, collision avoidance may yield a better throughput than thethroughput that may be achieved using simultaneous transmissions.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the illustrated flowchart relates to severalhigh-level operations that may be performed (e.g., by a receiving node)in conjunction with adapting RST. For convenience, the operations ofFIG. 2 (or any other operations discussed or taught herein) may bedescribed as being performed by specific components. For example, FIG. 3illustrates sample components that may be employed in conjunction withreceive operations of a node 300. It should be appreciated, however,that the described operations may be performed by other types ofcomponents and may be performed using a different number of components.For example, the threshold adaptation operations and componentsdescribed herein may be implemented in an access point that sets the RSTvalue or values for each of its associated nodes (e.g., accessterminals). It also should be appreciated that one or more of theoperations described herein may not be employed in a givenimplementation.

As represented by block 202 of FIG. 2, when a node of a system is withincommunication range of another node, the nodes may associate with oneanother to formally establish a communication session. In the example ofFIG. 3, the wireless node 300 includes a communication processor 302that cooperates with a transceiver 304 including transmitter andreceiver components 306 and 308 to communicate with another wirelessnode. In this way, one or more traffic flows may be established from onenode (e.g., node 102C in FIG. 1) to another node (e.g., node 104B).

Blocks 204-208 of FIG. 2 relate to RUM generation operations that a node(e.g., an access point or access terminal) may perform in conjunctionwith the reception of data. Here, a node may repeatedly (e.g.,continually, periodically, etc.) monitor the quality of service of itsreceived data and transmit a RUM whenever the monitored quality ofservice level falls below a desired quality of service level.

As represented by block 204, a receiving node (e.g. node 104B) receivesdata from an associated transmitting node (e.g. node 102C). As discussedabove, the received data may be associated with one or more links and/orflows.

As represented by block 206, the receiving node may determine whether itis receiving data in accordance with a desired quality of service level.For example, it may be desirable for a node to receive data associatedwith a given type of traffic at or above a given throughput rate (e.g.,for video traffic), within a given latency period (e.g., for voicetraffic), or without significant interference. In the example of FIG. 3,the node 300 includes a QoS determiner 310 configured to analyze datareceived by the receiver 308 to determine one or more quality ofservice-related parameters associated with the data. Accordingly, theQoS determiner 310 may comprise one or more of a throughput determiner312 for calculating throughput of received data, a latency determiner314 for calculating latency of received data, or an interferencedeterminer 316 for estimating, for example, the amount of interferenceimparted on the received data. It should be appreciated that a QoSdeterminer may take other forms as well. Various techniques may beemployed to monitor quality of service. For example, in someimplementations a node may employ a sliding window scheme (e.g., a shortterm moving average) to monitor the level of quality of service of itsreceived data on a relatively continual basis.

Here, a determination of whether a given level of quality of service isbeing achieved may be based on comparison of the quality of serviceinformation provided by the QoS determiner 310 with stored information318 representative of a desired quality of service (e.g., a quality ofservice threshold 320). In FIG. 3, the QoS determiner 310 may generate aquality of service metric that indicates (e.g., provides an estimate of)the level of quality of service that is associated with received dataover a given time period, a given number of packets, and so on. Inaddition, one or more threshold values 320 (e.g., RSTs) may define anexpected quality of service level for a given type of traffic or forseveral different types of traffic. A comparator 322 may thus comparethe current quality of service metric with a quality of servicethreshold 320 to determine whether the node 300 is receiving data at anacceptable level or whether the node 300 is disadvantaged in some way.

As represented by block 208 of FIG. 2, if a given quality of servicelevel is not being met at a receiving node, the receiving node maytransmit a RUM that indicates that the receiving node is disadvantagedto some degree. Here, the degree to which a node is disadvantaged may beindicated in a RUM weight. In the example of FIG. 3, a RUM transmissiondeterminer 324 determines whether to transmit a RUM based on thecomparison performed by the comparator 322. If a decision is made totransmit a RUM, a RUM generator 326 may determine the appropriate weightfor the RUM and cooperate with the transmitter 306 to send the RUM. Insome implementations, a RUM weight may be defined as a quantized valueof a ratio of the desired quality of service (e.g., corresponding to anRST) and a quality of service metric relating to the quality of servicethat is actually achieved.

In some aspects all of the RUMs in a system (e.g., a given network) maybe transmitted at a constant power spectral density (“PSD”) or at aconstant power. This may be the case regardless of the normal transmitpower of a given node. In this way, RUMs may be received at potentiallyinterfering (e.g., higher power) transmitting nodes that are relativelyfar away, irrespective of whether the RUM-sending node is a lower powernode or a higher power node. In other words, the RUM decoding range maybe defined to be substantially equal to or greater than the largesttransmit interference range to be controlled by the system.

A transmitting node that receives a RUM may determine an appropriatecourse of action based on the receipt of the RUM, as well as the weightthereof. For example, if a transmitting node (e.g., node 102D in FIG. 1)determines that a non-associated receiving node (e.g., node 104B) ismore disadvantaged than a receiving node (e.g., node 104C) associatedwith that transmitting node, the transmitting node may elect to abstainfrom transmitting or may reduce its transmit power during one or moredesignated timeslots to avoid interfering with the non-associatedreceiving node. Thus, by limiting its transmission at certain times, atransmitting node may improve C/I at a neighboring RUM-sending node.

Alternatively, in the event the transmitting node determines that itsassociated receiving node is more disadvantaged than any other receivingnodes that sent RUMs, the transmitting node may ignore the RUMs from thenon-associated nodes. In this case, the transmitting node may elect totransmit during a given timeslot.

As represented by block 210, a node (e.g., an access terminal, an accesspoint, or an access point on behalf of an access terminal) may adapt thenode's RST at some point in time. For example, as discussed in moredetail below, a decision to adapt the RST may be based on a node's ownanalysis of traffic in the system. Also, a node's decision to adapt theRST may be based on messages received from another node in the systemrelating to that other node's analysis of system traffic.

As represented by block 212, in some aspects the node 300 may include athreshold adapter 328 that acquires information to be used to determinewhether to adapt the quality of service information 318 (e.g., RST 320).For example, the threshold adapter 328 may monitor transmitted RUMs,monitor quality of service information, and process messages receivedfrom other nodes. Here, monitoring quality of service information mayinclude, for example, acquiring (e.g., determining) a node's own qualityof service statistics, acquiring threshold rate information fromassociated nodes, or acquiring threshold rate information fromnon-associated wireless sectors.

As represented by block 214, the threshold adapter 328 may then adaptthe RST based on the acquired information. The RST for a given node maybe adapted in various ways and may be adapted based on various criteria.Several examples of RST adaptation schemes will now be described inconjunction with the operations of FIGS. 4-6. Specifically, FIG. 4relates to adapting RST based on the effect of prior RUMs. FIG. 5relates to adapting RST based on RUM frequency. FIG. 6 relates toadapting RST based on RUM-related information received from anothernode. FIG. 8 relates to adapting RST based on throughput information ofassociated nodes. FIGS. 10A-B relate to adapting RST based on throughputinformation of neighboring wireless sectors.

Referring initially to the operations of FIG. 4, in some casestransmitting a large number of RUMs may be beneficial to systemperformance while in other cases the transmission of a large number ofRUMs may indicate that the RUMs are relatively ineffective. As anexample of the latter cases, while sending a RUM may improve theinterference environment for a current transmission, the transmission ofRUMs by one node may cause other nodes to also send RUMs, therebyreducing the number of transmission opportunities in the system.

In conjunction with determining whether to send RUMs, a node mayconsider the effect of past RUMs on the resultant quality of service togain a better sense of the overall system behavior. Based on thisfeedback from the system, the node may then adapt its RST in an attemptto improve system performance.

In some aspects, a node may consider the effect that its transmission ofRUMs has on the quality of service of its received data. For example, ifa node is sending RUMs and the throughput for the node is increasing, itmay be beneficial for the node to send more RUMs (e.g., by increasingits RST). Conversely, if a node is sending RUMs and there is no increaseor a decrease in throughput, the node may decrease its RST to decreasethe rate at which the node sends RUMs. The flowchart of FIG. 4,illustrates several aspects of operations that a node may perform inconjunction with adapting RST based on the effect of one or more RUMs.

As represented by block 402, a receiving node (e.g., node 300) maytransmit RUMs whenever it determines that it is disadvantaged to somedegree. As discussed above, this determination may be based oncomparison of a quality of service metric for received data with an RST.Thus, under certain conditions, a receiving node may transmit a seriesof RUMs over a period of time.

As represented by block 404, the receiving node may monitor a set (e.g.,one or more) of its RUM transmissions. For example, the thresholdadapter 328 may monitor transmitted RUMs over a period of time (e.g., acertain number of timeslots) or may collect RUM information for a givennumber of RUMs. In some implementations the threshold adapter 328employs a sliding window (e.g., of a defined time period) for monitoringRUMs.

As represented by block 406, the receiving node determines the effectthe transmission of RUMs has had on the quality of service of receiveddata (e.g., one or more received data flows). To this end, the QoSdeterminer 310 may monitor received traffic and determine one or morequality of service metrics associated with that traffic. For example,the throughput determiner 312 may calculate or estimate the throughputof the received traffic. Similarly, the latency determiner 314 maycalculate or estimate the latency of the received traffic. Also, theinterference determiner may calculate or estimate interference (orpotential interference) at the receiving node (e.g., by determine areceived error rate, etc.). In a similar manner as discussed above,quality of service may be monitored over a sliding window or using someother suitable technique.

In some aspects, the quality of service monitoring (e.g., during a giventime period) may coincide with or lag corresponding monitoring of theRUMs. In this way, an appropriate correlation may be maintained betweenthe transmission of the RUMs and the monitored quality of service.

The receiving node also may maintain information about the quality ofservice information that is provided by the QoS determiner 310 or thatis acquired in some other manner. For example, the threshold adapter 328may maintain QoS metric statistics 332 relating to prior values ofquality of service for one or more received flows and associated periodsof time. Consequently, a RUM effect analyzer 330 may determine howquality of service has been affected by comparing the current quality ofservice information with previous quality of service information. Forexample, the RUM effect analyzer 330 may generate an indication relatingto whether the transmission of RUMs resulted in improvement,degradation, or no change in quality of service at the receiving node.

As represented by block 408, the threshold adapter 328 may adapt an RST320 based on the effect the transmitted RUMs have on the correspondingquality of service. For example, if the transmission of RUMs improvedquality of service, the threshold adapter 328 may increase the RST 320.In this way, the receiving node may be configured to send more RUMssince the sending of RUMs has improved the reception of data at thenode.

In contrast, if the transmission of RUMs has little or no effect on thequality of service or has degraded the quality of service, the thresholdadapter 328 may not change the RST 320 or may decrease the RST 320. Inthe latter case, since sending RUMs is not helping this particular node,the node may be configured to send fewer RUMs thereby giving other nodesin the system more opportunities to transmit their data.

An example of an algorithm for adapting an RST is set forth inEquation 1. In this example the prior QoS metric (before sending anyRUMs) is designated R_(old) and the resultant QoS metric (after sendingone or more RUMs) is R_(new). RST_(original) represents the RST (e.g.,the level of quality of service) that is originally desired whileRST_(old) is the prior value of RST (e.g., after a prior adaptation ofRST). RST_(new) is the newly updated value for RST. Finally, γ is ahysteresis parameter (e.g. γ=0.1) that may be used to prevent toofrequent updates of RST.

EQUATION 1: If R_(new) > R_(old) × (1 + γ), set RST_(new) = RST_(old) ×(1 + δ), where 0 < δ < 1.   Here, RST_(new) may be constrained to theminimum of RST_(new) and   RST_(original).   The node then continuessending RUMs based on the new value of   RST. Else if R_(old) < R_(new)≦ R_(old) × (1 + γ), RST is maintained at the same value.   The nodethus continues sending RUMs based on the prior RST   value. Else (i.e.R_(new) ≦ R_(old)), set RST_(new) = RST_(old) × (1 − δ), where 0 < δ< 1.   The node then continues sending RUMs based on the new value of  RST.

In some implementations, one or more limits (e.g., bounds) may be placedon an RST value. For example, in some cases the adaptation of an RST maybe constrained so that the RST value does not fall below a certain value(e.g., a defined minimum value). In this way, an attempt may be made tomaintain a certain minimum level of service for the node. In addition,in some cases the adaptation of an RST may be constrained so that theRST value does not increase above a certain value (e.g., a definedmaximum value). For example, the RST value may be set to prevent thenode from transmitting RUMs at a rate that exceeds a maximum RUMfrequency. In this way, an attempt may be made to ensure that theavailable wireless resources are fairly shared among the contendingnodes. Also, the imposition of upper and lower bounds on the RST valuesfor a system may facilitate convergence (e.g., cause faster convergence)of the RST values being adapted by the nodes in the system.

Referring now to FIG. 5, in some implementations a node may adapt an RSTbased on a frequency at which the node transmits RUMs. In some aspects,the frequency with which a node sends out RUMs indicates the feasibilityof its RST values. For example, if the node sends out RUMs onlyoccasionally, the flows on its links may be achieving their RST targetswith the help of RUMs. On the other hand, a node that perpetually sendsout RUMs is not achieving RST, and may need to adapt its RST to a morereasonable value.

As represented by block 502, in some implementations RST adaptation maybe based on one or more relationships that are defined (e.g., at thesystem level or at a node) between RUM frequency and RST values. Such arelationship may involve, for example, associating a first RUM frequencyvalue with a first RST value, a second RUM frequency with a second RSTvalue, and so on. In some implementations a node may adapt an RST basedon an RST adaptation curve that defines, for example, a relativelycontinuous relationship between RUM frequency and RST values. In someimplementations different relationships may be defined for differenttraffic types (e.g., data flow types). In other words, different RSTadaptation schemes may be used for different types of traffic.Information 334 (FIG. 3) relating to these relationships may then bestored for use during subsequent threshold adaptation operations.

FIG. 7 illustrates several examples of RST adaptation curves. Asmentioned above, the manner in which an RST is adapted may depend on thetype of traffic flow associated with that RST. For example, as shown inFIG. 7, different types of flows may be associated with different RSTadaptation curves, each of which describes the elasticity of the RST forthat flow.

In some aspects, RST adaptation for a flow may be characterized by twoparameters: an initial RST value and an RST adaptation curve. As itsname suggests, an initial RST value may be the RST that is initiallydefined for a flow. In some implementations, this initial value isdefined as the mean traffic rate that the flow is expected to have. Afew examples follow. A full-buffer traffic curve may be associated withan initial RST of 800 kbps. Voice traffic sending 400 byte packets every40 ms may have an initial RST of 80 kbps. A video stream may have aninitial RST of, for example, 1 Mbps.

As shown in FIG. 7, an RST adaptation curve may plot the RUM frequencyversus an RST multiplier. The shape of this curve denotes the elasticityof the RST for this flow, and determines its sensitivity with respect tothe RUM frequency. Several example again follow. A dotted line 702represents a curve for a full-buffer flow (e.g., data applications suchas web browsing, e-mail, etc.) that is relatively elastic to thecongestion feedback. In this case, when the RUM frequency is relativelyhigh, the flow may still exist even when the RST is reducedconsiderably. As mentioned above, a voice-based flow (e.g.,voice-over-IP) generally requires that its quality of service be met.For example, the RST of a voice flow may be totally inelastic, asexemplified by the step-function shape of the dashed line 704 in FIG. 7.A line 706 represents an example of a two-rate video flow that mayoperate at two different RST levels, but is otherwise inelastic.

In FIG. 7, the values for RST and RUM frequency are normalized. Forexample, the initial RST value may be normalized b/s/Hz, over a 20 MHzchannel.

The RST adaptation curves in the example of FIG. 7 have a ceiling of 1,indicating, for example, that the RSTs of these flows do not exceed theinitial RST value. This may be the case in implementations where theinitial RST value is the minimum throughput that is desired for a flow.Here, there may be no need to increase the RST beyond this since, ifthere is no congestion, the flow may exceed its RST throughput anyway.On the other hand, when the RST is unachievable, the node adapts the RSTlower. The node may then raise the RST at a later point in time in theevent the congestion subsides.

It should be appreciated that an RST adaptation curve may be defined invarious ways. For example, in some implementations (e.g., when the RSTvalue is being set by the network), the RST multiplier may be adapted toa value greater than 1.

Referring again to FIG. 5, after one or more flows are established at anode, the node may transmit RUMs as discussed herein (block 504). In theexample of FIG. 3, the threshold adapter 328 may monitor this RUMtraffic, for example, as discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 4

As represented by block 506, a RUM frequency analyzer 336 may determinea current RUM frequency from a set of the transmitted RUMs. For example,the RUM frequency analyzer 336 may use a sliding window (e.g., over aperiod of time) to provide a current value for the RUM frequency.

In some implementations the RUM frequency may be calculated according toEquation 2:f _(R) :=w _(R) f _(R)+(1−w _(R))·z,  EQUATION 2:

-   -   where z=0 if no RUM was transmitted,    -   z=1 if a RUM was transmitted, and    -   0≦w_(R)≦1

Here, the RUM frequency f_(R) is a filtered value of the RUM bit zindicating whether a RUM was sent out or not. In some cases, the RUMfrequency f_(R) is initialized to 0 to provide an initial warm-up periodwhen no RUMs are sent out.

It should be appreciated that f_(R) may be calculated in a variety ofways. For example, the RUM frequency analyzer 336 may simply count thenumber of RUMs sent out during a given number of timeslots (e.g., thelast 100 timeslots).

In some implementations the RST adaptation algorithm may follow a muchslower timescale than RUMs. In this case, the filter weight w_(R) may bedefined as a value that is close to 1. For example, in someimplementations a node may set w_(R)=0.99.

As represented by block 508, the RUM frequency (e.g., the filtered f_(R)value) may then be used to adapt the RST. Here, the threshold adapter328 may use a threshold relationship 334 (e.g., RST adaptation curveinformation) corresponding to a given flow to determine the RUM value tobe used based on the current RUM frequency. For example, given the RUMfrequency, the actual value of a flow's RST may be calculated by lookingup the RST multiplier from the adaptation curve, and multiplying the RSTmultiplier by the initial RST value.

As the curve 702 of FIG. 2 illustrates for certain types of flows, anincrease in the RUM frequency may result in the selection of a lower RSTvalue, while a decrease in the RUM frequency may result in the selectionof a higher RST value. Thus, a node may lower or raise an RST valuebased on the current availability of system resources. For example, anode may raise the RST of flows that it had previously suppressed in theevent the congestion that caused the decrease in the RST value hassubsided.

As mentioned above, a given node may concurrently support multiple linksand/or flows. In this case, a node may send out a RUM with a weight thatis a function of the RST on all the node's children links and/or flows,and the quality of service that they receive. Thus, a node may employ asingle RUM that reflects the status of all the links and flows at thatnode.

In some implementations, the weight of the RUM indicates the flow and/orlink with the worst quality of service performance. Consequently, theRUM frequency may be used to adapt the RST of the worst link or flowassociated with a given node.

It should be appreciated that adaptation of RST values may beaccomplished in various ways. For example, in an implementation thatuses a flow-based RST, a node may independently adapt the RST of all theflows on a given link. Conversely, in some implementations the RST valuefor a link may comprise the sum of the RST values for those flows. Inthis case, the RUM frequency may be used to look up the adapted RSTvalues for each flow, whereby these RST values are added to define thenew RST for the link.

In a similar manner as discussed above, in some implementationsadaptation of an RST value may be limited. For example, in some cases aminimum and/or maximum value may be defined for the RST. In addition, insome cases a minimum and/or maximum value may be defined for RUMfrequency (thereby potentially limiting the adaptation of the RST tosome degree).

With reference to Table 1, an example RST adaptation process will now bedescribed in more detail. In this example, three nodes (nodes 1-3) aretransmitting to another node (node 0) via links 1-3, respectively. Attimeslot 0, the quality of service on link 1 and the quality of serviceon link 2 are below their respective RST targets. Consequently, node 0will send out a RUM. The RUM weight (“RUMwt”) corresponds to the worstlink, which is link 1 in this example. Here, the RUM weight is definedas RST/QoS.

As mentioned above, in some implementations the RST adaptation algorithmmay update the RST for link 1 alone in this case. Upon adaptation, link1 may not remain the worst link, and any other link which is alsocausing RUMs will have its own RST updated in turn (e.g., as in timeslot2).

An alternative strategy is to adopt the RST of all links at a receiver,every time. While this is may be computationally more expensive, it alsomay provide better performance.

TABLE 1 Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 Time RUM f_(R) RST QoS RUMwt RST QoS RUMwtRST QoS RUMwt 0 0.6 .4 .2 2 .4 .3 1.33 .4 .6 .67 1 1 0.61

.4 .3 1.33 .4 .6 .67 2 1 0.62 .3  .25   1.2

.4 .6 .67 3 1 0.63

.3 .4  .75 .4 .5 .8  20 0 0.3 .2 .3   .67 .3 .4  .75

Each row of Table 1 lists the current value of the RUM (e.g., 1=RUM sentand 0=RUM not sent) and the RUM frequency. The RUM frequency may be usedto adapt the RST on the worst link. In Table 1, the parameters for eachlink that is adapted are shown italicized and bolded. When a RUM is sentout, the link is likely to get a high throughput. Consequently, thequality of service for the link may increase, even as its RST isupdated. The last row (timeslot 20) represents a later point in time andis provided to demonstrate how the RST may be adapted upwards when theRUM frequency has reached a low number.

Referring again to FIG. 5, as represented by block 510, in someimplementations the defined relationships 334 may be dynamicallyadapted. For example, in the event the quality of service requirementfor a given type of traffic changes, a corresponding RST adaptationcurve may be changed. Such an adaptation may include, for example,adjusting the position of a vertical line of the curve 704 or the curve706, or changing a slope of the curve 702.

It should be appreciated that an RST may be adapted based on varioustypes of information that may be available in a wireless communicationsystem. For example, referring now FIG. 6, in some implementations anode may adapt its RST based on information the node receives fromanother node.

As represented by block 602, in some implementations a transmitting nodethat has associated with a receiving node may send information to thereceiving node that the receiving node may use to adapt an RST. Forexample, the transmitting node may transmit information relating to thenumber RUMs it has received and corresponding weights of those RUMs.Such information may be useful, for example, to inform the receivingnode of the reason it has not received transmissions from thetransmitting node (e.g., due to the reception of higher priority RUMs atthe transmitting node). The receiving node may then use this informationto determine whether it needs to adjust its RST to improve its qualityof service or to allow some other node or nodes to have more access tosystem resources.

As represented by block 604, in some implementations a transmitting nodethat desires to transmit may send another form of resource utilizationmessage to inform neighboring receiving nodes that the transmitting nodeis contending for a wireless resource (e.g., a timeslot). This form ofresource utilization message may be referred to herein as a TX_RUM sinceit originates from a transmitting node.

In some implementations a transmitting node may transmit a TX_RUM basedon the node's analysis of RUMs that it has received from neighboringreceiving nodes. For example, a transmitting node may send a TX_RUM ifit determines that its associated receiving node is more disadvantagedthat the other receiving nodes that send RUMs. Thus, in some aspects aTX_RUM provides information relating to information the transmittingnode has obtained (e.g., heard) from the system.

In some aspects a receiving node may use receipt of a TX_RUM todetermine to which associated transmitting node it will listen. Forexample, in the event a receiving node has established flows withmultiple transmitting nodes, the nodes may use the TX_RUM mechanismenable the receiving node to more effectively schedule data from one ofthe associated transmitting nodes. In addition, the receiving node mayuse the TX_RUM information it receives to determine how to adapt itsRSTs. For example, in the event transmissions from a given node arecurrently disadvantaged, the receiving node may adapt any RSTsassociated with that node in an attempt to receive more traffic fromthat node.

It should be appreciated that the TX_RUM may be received by receivingnodes that have not associated with the node that transmitted theTX_RUM. In this case, a receiving node may use knowledge of the receivedTX_RUMs to determine how to set its RST (e.g., to receive more or lesstraffic from an associated transmitting node).

As represented by block 606, at some point in time a receiving node(e.g., node 300 in FIG. 3) may receive one or more RUM-related messagesfrom one or more transmitting nodes. For example, the receiving node mayreceive one of the messages discussed above in conjunction with blocks602 and 604.

As represented by block 608, if applicable, the receiving node (e.g. areceived information processor 338 of FIG. 3) may derive RUM-relatedinformation from a received message. For example, the receivedinformation processor 338 may collect statistics relating to thequantity of resource utilization messages that have been received (e.g.,over a period of time) and the weights of those resource utilizationmessage. The received information processor 338 may then storeinformation 332 (e.g., statistics concerning the number of RUMs and theRUM weights) relating to (e.g., comprising) the received RUM-relatedinformation.

As represented by block 610, the threshold adapter 328 may adapt an RSTbased on the RUM-related information 332. For example, based on thenumber and weight of the RUMs received by a receiving node's associatedtransmitting node (e.g., based on a trend relating to this information),the receiving node may elect to raise an RST to improve the quality ofservice of an associated flow. As a specific example, the RST may beincrease in the event the weights of the RUMs are relatively low orthere are relatively few RUMs. Conversely, the receiving node may electto lower an RST to reduce the quality of service of an associated flowbased on this RUM-related information (e.g., the current trend). Forexample, the RST may be decreased in the event the weights of the RUMsare relatively high or there a large number of RUMs.

In the event a receiving node is receiving a large number of TX_RUMs,the node may lower its RST (e.g., to enable the transmitting node tohave more access to the system resources). Conversely, if the receivingnode is not receiving a large number of TX_RUMs the node may raise itsRST.

Equation 3 illustrates an example of an algorithm that may be employedwhen receipt of TX_RUMs is used to determine the extent of congestion inthe system.

$\begin{matrix}{{R_{target}\left( {n + 1} \right)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{\min\left( {{{R_{target}(n)} + \delta},R_{target}^{\max}} \right)} & {{if}\mspace{14mu}{no}\mspace{14mu}{neighbor}} \\\; & {{TxRUM}\mspace{14mu}{heard}} \\{\max\left( {{{R_{target}(n)} - \delta},R_{target}^{\min}} \right)} & {otherwise}\end{matrix} \right.} & {{EQUATION}\mspace{20mu} 3}\end{matrix}$

In this example, a “neighbor” TX_RUM refers to a TX_RUM from atransmitting node that is not associated with this receiving node. Thisalgorithm allows a receiving node to be more aggressive in requestingcollision avoidance when congestion is low (as represented by the factthat no “neighbor” TX_RUMs were heard) and more conservative whencongestion is high.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 10, in some aspects an RST may be adaptedbased on throughput information. For example, FIG. 8 relates to adaptingan RST based on local throughput (e.g., the throughput of the nodeswithin a given wireless sector). FIGS. 10A-B relate to adapting RST bytaking into account throughput of one or more neighboring wirelesssectors. Here, each wireless sector may comprise, for example, an accesspoint and its associated access terminals.

Referring initially to FIG. 8, as represented by block 802, a wirelessnode acquires throughput information associated with a set of associatedwireless nodes (e.g., the nodes of a given wireless sector). Forexample, an access point may monitor the flows of its associated nodes(e.g., access terminals) to determine the rate at which data istransmitted by or received at each node. In some aspects, a componentsuch as the throughput determiner 312 of FIG. 3 may be used to acquirethe throughput information.

Such a throughput rate may be determined in various ways. For example,in some cases the throughput rate may comprise an average rate over aperiod of time. In some cases the throughput rate may comprise a runningaverage. In some cases the throughput rate may comprise a filtered rate(e.g., the rate over a given number of timeslots).

As represented by block 804, the wireless node (e.g., a throughputprocessor 340 of FIG. 3) may process the acquired throughput informationin some manner. For example, in some aspects this may involvecalculating at least one statistic relating to (e.g., the median of) therates (e.g., the filtered rates) associated with a given wireless sectorobtained at block 802.

As represented by block 806, the wireless node (e.g., the thresholdadapter 328 of FIG. 3) may then adapt an RST value based on thethroughput information. For example, the RST may be set to the medianvalue calculated at block 804.

In some implementations the adapted RST value may be used for all of thewireless nodes in a sector. For example, the access point may send thenew RST value to each of its associated wireless nodes. In this way,each sector (e.g., cell, service set, or some other set of nodes) in asystem may attempt to improve the throughput of the nodes that have athroughput rate below the median throughput rate. Here, upon adaptationof the RST, the nodes in the sector that had lower throughput may nowachieve higher throughput since the RST may be set higher than theircurrent throughput. In other words, these disadvantaged nodes may sendRUMs more frequently due to the new RST value. Conversely, the nodes inthe sector that had higher throughput may lose some throughput since theRST may be set lower than their current throughput. That is, thesehigher throughput nodes may send RUMs less frequently due to the new RSTvalue.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of how a given wireless node may use thenew RST value to determine whether to transmit a RUM. As represented byblock 902, the wireless node obtains information regarding itsthroughput (e.g., an average throughput rate for received data).

As represented by blocks 904 and 906, the throughput information iscompared with the new RST and a maximum rate parameter (“MAXRATE”). Ifthe throughput is less than (or less than or equal to) both of theseparameters, the wireless node may transmit a RUM. Otherwise, thewireless node may continue monitoring its throughput (e.g., as discussedherein).

The maximum rate parameter may be employed to ensure that nodes thathave a relatively high throughput do not transmit RUMs. For example, themaximum rate parameter may be defined at a value that represents ahigher than average throughput rate. Thus, as long as the throughput ofa node is achieving or exceeds that defined rate, the wireless node willnot transmit a RUM. A maximum rate also may be defined based on othercriteria. For example, the maximum rate may be based on the amount agiven user of a wireless node pays for use of that node (e.g., asubscription fee). Thus, different maximum rates may be assigned todifferent wireless nodes under different circumstances.

As represented by block 908, in the event a RUM is to be sent, thewireless node (e.g., the RUM generator 326 of FIG. 3) may calculate aweight for the RUM. As discussed herein a weight may be calculated bydividing a throughput value (e.g., corresponding to QoS of receiveddata) by the RST value. In this case, a lower weight value indicatesthat the wireless node is more disadvantaged.

In some aspects a weight may be adapted to favor a disadvantaged node.For example, Equation 4 illustrates an example of an algorithm where theRUMs for nodes that have a lower running average throughput rate(“running_average”) are assigned a lower weight than nodes that have ahigher running average. Here, the numerator portion (i.e., the new RSTvalue) of the RUM weight formula set forth below is adjusted dependingon the value of Δ which depends, in turn, on the running average. Here,Δ may be constrained to a negative value by not allowing a RUM to besent if the running average greater than or equal to the maximum rate.Δ=log(running_average/MAXRATE) RUMweight=throughput/(RST*(1-Δ))  EQUATION 4:

As represented by block 910, the wireless node transmits the RUM, alongwith the weight value. The wireless node may then continue monitoringits throughput as discussed herein.

Referring now to FIGS. 10A-B, in some aspects RST may be adapted basedon shared throughput input information statistics. For example, wirelesssectors (e.g., the access points of neighboring sectors) may share theirrespective throughput information so that each wireless sector may adaptits RST value(s) based on this shared throughput input information.

FIG. 10A illustrates operations that each wireless sector may perform toshare its throughput information. As represented by block 1002, awireless node acquires throughput information associated with a set ofassociated wireless nodes (e.g., the nodes of a given wireless sector).For example, an access point may monitor the flows of its associatednodes (e.g., access terminals) to determine the rate at which data istransmitted by or received at each node. In some aspects, a componentsuch as the throughput determiner 312 may be used to acquire thethroughput information.

As represented by block 1004, the wireless node (e.g., the throughputprocessor 340) may process the acquired throughput information in somemanner. For example, in some aspects this may involve calculating atleast one statistic relating to (e.g., the median of) the rates (e.g.,the filtered rates) associated with a given wireless sector obtained atblock 1002.

As represented by block 1006, the wireless node may then transmit itsthroughput information (e.g., the median rate) so that neighboringsectors may acquire this information. In some cases a wireless node mayperiodically transmit this information (e.g., at a slower rate than RUMsare transmitted, on average). In some cases a wireless node may transmitthis information with a RUM.

FIG. 10B illustrates operations that each wireless sector may perform toadapt an RST value based on throughput information acquired from otherwireless sectors. For convenience, these operations will be described asbeing performed by an access point of a given sector.

As represented by block 1010, an access point (e.g., a sector selector342 of FIG. 3) may optionally select the sectors from which it willreceive throughput information. For example, an access point may decideto not acquire throughput information from any sectors that the accesspoint does not interfere with. In some cases, such an interferencedetermination may be based on whether the access point obeys RUMsreceived from a node of the sector. In some cases a decision to obey aRUM may, in turn, be based on a probability function. For example, if anaccess point obeys RUMs from another sector with a probability of 0.5,half of the time the access point may obey the RUMs and half of the timethe node may not obey the RUMs. Accordingly, a decision to acquirethroughput information from a selected sector may be based on whetherthere exists at least one wireless node in the selected sector such thatthe RUM-obey probability of the access point for a RUM from the wirelessnode is greater than or equal to a defined value (e.g., 0.5).

As represented by block 1012, the access point acquires (e.g.,periodically acquires) the throughput information that is transmitted byone or more other wireless sectors. As mentioned above, in some aspectsthis information comprises at least one statistic relating to (e.g., themedian) throughput values provided by each of the sectors (e.g., as inblock 1006). In the example of FIG. 3, a component such as thethroughput determiner 312 may be used to acquire this throughputinformation.

As represented by block 1014, the access point (e.g., the throughputprocessor 340) may process the acquired throughput information in somemanner. For example, in some aspects this may involve calculating astatistic (e.g., the median) of the median rates (e.g., the filteredrates) obtained at block 1012 and the median rate of the access point'ssector (e.g., as calculated at block 1004).

As represented by block 1016, the access point (e.g., the thresholdadapter 328) may then adapt an RST value based on the throughputinformation. For example, the RST may be set to the median calculated atblock 1014. The access point may then send the new RST value to eachwireless node of the access point's sector. The wireless nodes may thususe the new RST value to determine whether to transmit a RUM (e.g., asin FIG. 9).

Through the use of the above RST adaptation scheme, each sector mayattempt to improve the throughput of any wireless nodes that have athroughput that falls below a median throughput calculated at block1014. Here, after adaptation of the RST value, the nodes of a sectorthat had a lower median throughput may achieve higher throughput sincethe RST may be set higher than their current throughput. In other words,these nodes may send RUMs more frequently due to the new RST value.Conversely, the nodes in any sectors that had a higher median throughputmay lose some throughput since the RST may be set lower than theircurrent throughput. That is, these nodes may send RUMs less frequentlydue to the new RST value.

The teachings herein may be incorporated into a device employing variouscomponents for communicating with at least one other wireless device.FIG. 11 depicts several sample components that may be employed tofacilitate communication between devices. Here, a first device 1102(e.g., an access terminal) and a second device 1104 (e.g., an accesspoint) are adapted to communicate via a wireless communication link 1106over a suitable medium.

Initially, components involved in sending information from the device1102 to the device 1104 (e.g., a reverse link) will be treated. Atransmit (“TX”) data processor 1108 receives traffic data (e.g., datapackets) from a data buffer 1110 or some other suitable component. Thetransmit data processor 1108 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, andsymbol maps) each data packet based on a selected coding and modulationscheme, and provides data symbols. In general, a data symbol is amodulation symbol for data, and a pilot symbol is a modulation symbolfor a pilot (which is known a priori). A modulator 1112 receives thedata symbols, pilot symbols, and possibly signaling for the reverselink, and performs modulation (e.g., OFDM or some other suitablemodulation) and/or other processing as specified by the system, andprovides a stream of output chips. A transmitter (“TMTR”) 1114 processes(e.g., converts to analog, filters, amplifies, and frequency upconverts)the output chip stream and generates a modulated signal, which is thentransmitted from an antenna 1116.

The modulated signals transmitted by the device 1102 (along with signalsfrom other devices in communication with the device 1104) are receivedby an antenna 1118 of the device 1104. A receiver (“RCVR”) 1120processes (e.g., conditions and digitizes) the received signal from theantenna 1118 and provides received samples. A demodulator (“DEMOD”) 1122processes (e.g., demodulates and detects) the received samples andprovides detected data symbols, which may be a noisy estimate of thedata symbols transmitted to the device 1104 by the other device(s). Areceive (“RX”) data processor 1124 processes (e.g., symbol demaps,deinterleaves, and decodes) the detected data symbols and providesdecoded data associated with each transmitting device (e.g., device1102).

Components involved in sending information from the device 1104 to thedevice 1102 (e.g., a forward link) will be now be treated. At the device1104, traffic data is processed by a transmit (“TX”) data processor 1126to generate data symbols. A modulator 1128 receives the data symbols,pilot symbols, and signaling for the forward link, performs modulation(e.g., OFDM or some other suitable modulation) and/or other pertinentprocessing, and provides an output chip stream, which is furtherconditioned by a transmitter (“TMTR”) 1130 and transmitted from theantenna 1118. In some implementations signaling for the forward link mayinclude power control commands and other information (e.g., relating toa communication channel) generated by a controller 1132 for all devices(e.g. terminals) transmitting on the reverse link to the device 1104.

At the device 1102, the modulated signal transmitted by the device 1104is received by the antenna 1116, conditioned and digitized by a receiver(“RCVR”) 1134, and processed by a demodulator (“DEMOD”) 1136 to obtaindetected data symbols. A receive (“RX”) data processor 1138 processesthe detected data symbols and provides decoded data for the device 1102and the forward link signaling. A controller 1140 receives power controlcommands and other information to control data transmission and tocontrol transmit power on the reverse link to the device 1104.

The controllers 1140 and 1132 direct various operations of the device1102 and the device 1104, respectively. For example, a controller maydetermine an appropriate filter, reporting information about the filter,and decode information using a filter. Data memories 1142 and 1144 maystore program codes and data used by the controllers 1140 and 1132,respectively.

FIG. 11 also illustrates that the communication components may includeone or more components that perform RUM-related operations as taughtherein. For example, a RUM control component 1146 may adapt RSTs andcooperate with the controller 1140 and/or other components of the device1102 to send and receive signals to another device (e.g., device 1104)as taught herein. Similarly, a RUM control component 1148 may adapt RSTsand cooperate with the controller 1132 and/or other components of thedevice 1104 to send and receive signals to another device (e.g., device1102).

The teachings herein may be incorporated into (e.g., implemented withinor performed by) a variety of apparatuses (e.g., devices). For example,each node may be configured, or referred to in the art, as an accesspoint (“AP”), NodeB, Radio Network Controller (“RNC”), eNodeB, BaseStation Controller (“BSC”), Base Transceiver Station (“BTS”), BaseStation (“BS”), Transceiver Function (“TF”), Radio Router, RadioTransceiver, Basic Service Set (“BSS”), Extended Service Set (“ESS”),Radio Base Station (“RBS”), or some other terminology. Certain nodesalso may be referred to as access terminals. An access terminal also maybe known as a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, aremote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a userdevice, or user equipment. In some implementations an access terminalmay comprise a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a SessionInitiation Protocol (“SIP”) phone, a wireless local loop (“WLL”)station, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a handheld device havingwireless connection capability, or some other suitable processing deviceconnected to a wireless modem. Accordingly, one or more aspects taughtherein may be incorporated into a phone (e.g., a cellular phone or smartphone), a computer (e.g., a laptop), a portable communication device, aportable computing device (e.g., a personal data assistant), anentertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satelliteradio), a global positioning system device, or any other suitable devicethat is configured to communicate via a wireless medium.

As mentioned above, in some aspects a wireless node may comprise anaccess device (e.g., a cellular or Wi-Fi access point) for acommunication system. Such an access device may provide, for example,connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as theInternet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communicationlink. Accordingly, the access device may enable another device (e.g., aWi-Fi station) to access the network or some other functionality.

A wireless node may thus include various components that performfunctions based on data transmitted by or received at the wireless node.For example, an access point and an access terminal may include anantenna for transmitting and receiving signals (e.g., messages includingcontrol information and/or data). An access point also may include atraffic manager configured to manage data traffic flows that itsreceiver receives from a plurality of wireless nodes or that itstransmitter transmits to a plurality of wireless nodes. In addition, anaccess terminal may include a user interface configured to output anindication based on received data (e.g., data received in conjunctionwith transmission of one or more RUMs).

A wireless device may communicate via one or more wireless communicationlinks that are based on or otherwise support any suitable wirelesscommunication technology. For example, in some aspects a wireless devicemay associate with a network. In some aspects the network may comprise alocal area network or a wide area network. A wireless device may supportor otherwise use one or more of a variety of wireless communicationtechnologies, protocols, or standards such as, for example, CDMA, TDMA,OFDM, OFDMA, WiMAX, and Wi-Fi. Similarly, a wireless device may supportor otherwise use one or more of a variety of corresponding modulation ormultiplexing schemes. A wireless device may thus include appropriatecomponents (e.g., air interfaces) to establish and communicate via oneor more wireless communication links using the above or other wirelesscommunication technologies. For example, a device may comprise awireless transceiver with associated transmitter and receiver components(e.g., transmitter 306 and receiver 308) that may include variouscomponents (e.g., signal generators and signal processors) thatfacilitate communication over a wireless medium.

The components described herein may be implemented in a variety of ways.Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, apparatuses 1200 and 1300 are representedas a series of interrelated functional blocks that may representfunctions implemented by, for example, one or more integrated circuits(e.g., an ASIC) or may be implemented in some other manner as taughtherein. As discussed herein, an integrated circuit may include aprocessor, software, other components, or some combination thereof.

The apparatuses 1200 and 1300 may include one or more modules that mayperform one or more of the functions described above with regard tovarious figures. For example, an ASIC for adapting 1202 may correspondto, for example, a threshold adapter as discussed herein. An ASIC fordetermining whether to transmit 1204 may correspond to, for example, atransmission determiner as discussed herein. An ASIC for transmitting orreceiving 1206 may correspond to, for example, a transceiver asdiscussed herein. An ASIC for determining QoS 1208 may correspond to,for example, a QoS determiner as discussed herein. An ASIC forassociating 1210 may correspond to, for example, a communicationprocessor as discussed herein. An ASIC for acquiring 1302 may correspondto, for example, a throughput determiner as discussed herein. An ASICfor adapting a QoS threshold 1304 may correspond to, for example, athreshold adapter as discussed herein. An ASIC for determining 1306 maycorrespond to, for example, a transmission determiner as discussedherein. An ASIC for selecting 1308 may correspond to, for example, asector selector as discussed herein. An ASIC for adapting a weightingfactor 1310 may correspond to, for example, a RUM generator as discussedherein.

As noted above, in some aspects these components may be implemented viaappropriate processor components. These processor components may in someaspects be implemented, at least in part, using structure as taughtherein. In some aspects a processor may be adapted to implement aportion or all of the functionality of one or more of these components.In some aspects one or more of the components represented by dashedboxes are optional.

As noted above, the apparatus 900 may comprise one or more integratedcircuits. For example, in some aspects a single integrated circuit mayimplement the functionality of one or more of the illustratedcomponents, while in other aspects more than one integrated circuit mayimplement the functionality of one or more of the illustratedcomponents.

In addition, the components and functions represented by FIG. 9 as wellas other components and functions described herein, may be implementedusing any suitable means. Such means also may be implemented, at leastin part, using corresponding structure as taught herein. For example,the components described above in conjunction with the “ASIC for”components of FIG. 9 also may correspond to similarly designated “meansfor” functionality. Thus, in some aspects one or more of such means maybe implemented using one or more of processor components, integratedcircuits, or other suitable structure as taught herein.

Also, it should be understood that any reference to an element hereinusing a designation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does notgenerally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, thesedesignations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishingbetween two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, areference to first and second elements does not mean that only twoelements may be employed there or that the first element must precedethe second element in some manner. Also, unless stated otherwise a setof elements may comprise one or more elements.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that any of the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digitalimplementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two,which may be designed using source coding or some other technique),various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions(which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as “software” or a“software module”), or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate thisinterchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been describedabove generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implementedwithin or performed by an integrated circuit (“IC”), an access terminal,or an access point. The IC may comprise a general purpose processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, electrical components, optical components,mechanical components, or any combination thereof designed to performthe functions described herein, and may execute codes or instructionsthat reside within the IC, outside of the IC, or both. A general purposeprocessor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processormay be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in anydisclosed process is an example of a sample approach. Based upon designpreferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps in the processes may be rearranged while remaining within thescope of the present disclosure. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to belimited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with theaspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module (e.g., including executable instructions and relateddata) and other data may reside in a data memory such as RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readablestorage medium known in the art. A sample storage medium may be coupledto a machine such as, for example, a computer/processor (which may bereferred to herein, for convenience, as a “processor”) such theprocessor can read information (e.g., code) from and write informationto the storage medium. A sample storage medium may be integral to theprocessor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC.The ASIC may reside in user equipment. In the alternative, the processorand the storage medium may reside as discrete components in userequipment. Moreover, in some aspects any suitable computer-programproduct may comprise a computer-readable medium comprising codes (e.g.,executable by at least one computer) relating to one or more of theaspects of the disclosure. In some aspects a computer program productmay comprise packaging materials.

The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enableany person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure.Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other aspects without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limitedto the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, implemented in an apparatus, ofwireless communication, comprising: adapting, by the apparatus, aquality of service threshold based on a set of resource utilizationmessages from one or more devices in a wireless communication system,wherein the set of resource utilization messages relate to quality ofservice of at least one of the one or more devices; and determiningwhether to transmit a resource utilization message based on the qualityof service threshold.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the quality ofservice threshold relates to at least one of the group consisting of:data latency, data throughput, and estimated interference.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the set of resource utilization messages weretransmitted or received during a defined period of time or during adefined number of timeslots.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein theadaptation of the quality of service threshold improves quality ofservice of data flows of the wireless communication system.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising determining whether transmissionof the set of resource utilization messages improved quality of serviceassociated with data flows of the wireless communication system; whereinthe adaptation of the quality of service threshold causes more frequenttransmissions of resource utilization messages if the transmission ofthe set of resource utilization messages improved the quality of serviceassociated with the data flows.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theadaptation of the quality of service threshold is further based on adetermination of whether transmission of the set of resource utilizationmessages improved quality of service associated with received data. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein: the set of resource utilization messagescomprises resource utilization messages received by a first wirelessnode; a second wireless node receives, from the first wireless node,information relating to the resource utilization messages received bythe first wireless node; and the adaptation of the quality of servicethreshold is based on the received information.
 8. The method of claim6, wherein the determination of whether the transmission of the set ofresource utilization messages improved quality of service comprisesdetermining whether latency or throughput of the received data isaffected by the transmission of the set of resource utilizationmessages.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein: the quality of servicethreshold is increased if the transmission of the set of resourceutilization messages resulted in an increase in throughput of thereceived data; and the quality of service threshold is decreased if thetransmission of the set of resource utilization messages resulted in adecrease or substantially no change in throughput of the received data.10. The method of claim 6, further comprising limiting the adaptation ofthe quality of service threshold to thereby prevent transmission ofresource utilization messages at a frequency that is greater than adefined frequency or to prevent the quality of service threshold frombeing adapted beyond a defined minimum value or a defined maximum value.11. The method of claim 1, wherein the adaptation of the quality ofservice threshold is further based on a frequency at which the set ofresource utilization messages were transmitted.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein: the quality of service threshold is decreased if thefrequency increases; and the quality of service threshold is increasedif the frequency decreases.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein theadaptation of the quality of service threshold is performed in adifferent manner for different types of traffic.
 14. The method of claim11, wherein: different relationships between resource utilizationmessage threshold levels and resource utilization message frequenciesare defined for different types of traffic; and the adaptation of thequality of service threshold is further based on one of the definedrelationships associated with one of the different types of traffic. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein each of the defined relationships isadaptable based on a change in quality of service associated with acorresponding one of the different types of traffic.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein: different quality of service requirements areassociated with different types of traffic; and the adaptation of thequality of service threshold is further based on one of the differentquality of service requirements.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein: theadaptation of the quality of service threshold is further based on atleast one message received by a first wireless node from a secondwireless node; and the at least one message relates to the set ofresource utilization messages.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein: thefirst wireless node is associated with the second wireless node toreceive data from the second wireless node; and the set of resourceutilization messages comprises resource utilization messages received bythe second wireless node.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the atleast one message relates to at least one of the group consisting of: aquantity of the resource utilization messages received by the secondwireless node and weights associated with the resource utilizationmessages received by the second wireless node.
 20. The method of claim18, wherein: the quality of service threshold is decreased if there hasbeen an increase in a trend relating to the resource utilizationmessages received by the second wireless node during a defined period oftime or during a defined number of timeslots; and the quality of servicethreshold is increased if there has been a decrease in a trend relatingto the resource utilization messages received by the second wirelessnode during the defined period of time or during the defined number oftimeslots.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein: the first wireless nodeand the second wireless node are not currently associated; the at leastone received message comprises the set of resource utilization messages;and the set of resource utilization messages indicates that the secondwireless node is a transmitting node contending for a wireless resource.22. The method of claim 21, wherein: the quality of service threshold isdecreased if there has been an increase in a trend relating to aquantity of the set of resource utilization messages that are receivedduring a defined period of time or during a defined number of timeslots;and the quality of service threshold is increased if there has been adecrease in a trend relating to a quantity of the set of resourceutilization messages that are received during the defined period of timeor during the defined number of timeslots.
 23. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a threshold adapter configured to adapt aquality of service threshold based on a set of resource utilizationmessages from one or more devices in a wireless communication system,wherein the set of resource utilization messages relate to quality ofservice of at least one of the one or more devices; and a transmissiondeterminer configured to determine whether to transmit a resourceutilization message based on the quality of service threshold.
 24. Theapparatus of claim 23, wherein the quality of service threshold relatesto at least one of the group consisting of: data latency, datathroughput, and estimated interference.
 25. The apparatus of claim 23,further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit or receive theset of resource utilization messages during a defined period of time orduring a defined number of timeslots.
 26. The apparatus of claim 23,wherein the threshold adapter is further configured to adapt the qualityof service threshold to improve quality of service of data flows of thewireless communication system.
 27. The apparatus of claim 23, furthercomprising a quality of service determiner configured to determinequality of service associated with data flows of the wirelesscommunication system; wherein the threshold adapter is furtherconfigured to adapt the quality of service threshold to cause morefrequent transmissions of resource utilization messages if transmissionof the set of resource utilization messages improved the quality ofservice associated with the data flows.
 28. The apparatus of claim 23,wherein the threshold adapter is further configured to adapt the qualityof service threshold based on a determination of whether transmission ofthe set of resource utilization messages improved quality of serviceassociated with received data.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein:the set of resource utilization messages comprises resource utilizationmessages received by a first wireless node; a second wireless nodereceives, from the first wireless node, information relating to theresource utilization messages received by the first wireless node; andthe threshold adapter is further configured to adapt the quality ofservice threshold based on the received information.
 30. The apparatusof claim 28, wherein the determination of whether the transmission ofthe set of resource utilization messages improved quality of servicecomprises determining whether latency or throughput of the received datais affected by the transmission of the set of resource utilizationmessages.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the threshold adapteris further configured to: increase the quality of service threshold ifthe transmission of the set of resource utilization messages resulted inan increase in throughput of the received data; and decrease the qualityof service threshold if the transmission of the set of resourceutilization messages resulted in a decrease or substantially no changein throughput of the received data.
 32. The apparatus of claim 28,wherein the threshold adapter is further configured to limit theadaptation of the quality of service threshold to thereby preventtransmission of resource utilization messages at a frequency that isgreater than a defined frequency or to prevent the quality of servicethreshold from being adapted beyond a defined minimum value or a definedmaximum value.
 33. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the thresholdadapter is further configured to adapt the quality of service thresholdbased on a frequency at which the set of resource utilization messageswere transmitted.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the thresholdadapter is further configured to: decrease the quality of servicethreshold if the frequency increases; and increase the quality ofservice threshold if the frequency decreases.
 35. The apparatus of claim33, wherein the threshold adapter is further configured to adapt thequality of service threshold in a different manner for different typesof traffic.
 36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein: differentrelationships between resource utilization message threshold levels andresource utilization message frequencies are defined for different typesof traffic; and the threshold adapter is further configured to adapt thequality of service threshold based on one of the defined relationshipsassociated with one of the different types of traffic.
 37. The apparatusof claim 36, wherein the threshold adapter is further configured toadapt each of the defined relationships based on a change in quality ofservice associated with a corresponding one of the different types oftraffic.
 38. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein: different quality ofservice requirements are associated with different types of traffic; andthe threshold adapter is further configured to adapt the quality ofservice threshold based on one of the different quality of servicerequirements.
 39. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein: the thresholdadapter is further configured to adapt the quality of service thresholdbased on at least one message received by a first wireless node from asecond wireless node; and the at least one message relates to the set ofresource utilization messages.
 40. The apparatus of claim 39, furthercomprising a communication processor configured to associate the firstwireless node with the second wireless node to receive data from thesecond wireless node; wherein the set of resource utilization messagescomprises resource utilization messages received by the second wirelessnode.
 41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the at least one messagerelates to at least one of the group consisting of: a quantity of theresource utilization messages received by the second wireless node andweights associated with the resource utilization messages received bythe second wireless node.
 42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein thethreshold adapter is further configured to: decrease the quality ofservice threshold if there has been an increase in a trend relating tothe resource utilization messages received by the second wireless nodeduring a defined period of time or during a defined number of timeslots;and increase the quality of service threshold if there has been adecrease in a trend relating to the resource utilization messagesreceived by the second wireless node during the defined period of timeor during the defined number of timeslots.
 43. The apparatus of claim39, wherein: the first wireless node and the second wireless node arenot currently associated; the at least one received message comprisesthe set of resource utilization messages; and the set of resourceutilization messages indicates that the second wireless node is atransmitting node contending for a wireless resource.
 44. The apparatusof claim 43, wherein the threshold adapter is further configured to:decrease the quality of service threshold if there has been an increasein a trend relating to a quantity of the set of resource utilizationmessages that are received during a defined period of time or during adefined number of timeslots; and increase the quality of servicethreshold if there has been a decrease in a trend relating to a quantityof the set of resource utilization messages that are received during thedefined period of time or during the defined number of timeslots.
 45. Anapparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for adapting aquality of service threshold based on a set of resource utilizationmessages from one or more devices in a wireless communication system,wherein the set of resource utilization messages relate to quality ofservice of at least one of the one or more devices; and means fordetermining whether to transmit a resource utilization message based onthe quality of service threshold.
 46. The apparatus of claim 45, whereinthe quality of service threshold relates to at least one of the groupconsisting of: data latency, data throughput, and estimatedinterference.
 47. The apparatus of claim 45, further comprising meansfor transmitting or receiving the set of resource utilization messagesduring a defined period of time or during a defined number of timeslots.48. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the means for adapting adapts thequality of service threshold to improve quality of service of data flowsof the wireless communication system.
 49. The apparatus of claim 45,further comprising means for determining quality of service associatedwith data flows of the wireless communication system; wherein the meansfor adapting adapts the quality of service threshold to cause morefrequent transmissions of resource utilization messages if transmissionof the set of resource utilization messages improved the quality ofservice associated with the data flows.
 50. The apparatus of claim 45,wherein the means for adapting adapts the quality of service thresholdbased on a determination of whether transmission of the set of resourceutilization messages improved quality of service associated withreceived data.
 51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein: the set ofresource utilization messages comprises resource utilization messagesreceived by a first wireless node; a second wireless node receives, fromthe first wireless node, information relating to the resourceutilization messages received by the first wireless node; and the meansfor adapting adapts the quality of service threshold based on thereceived information.
 52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein thedetermination of whether the transmission of the set of resourceutilization messages improved quality of service comprises determiningwhether latency or throughput of the received data is affected by thetransmission of the set of resource utilization messages.
 53. Theapparatus of claim 52, wherein the means for adapting: increases thequality of service threshold if the transmission of the set of resourceutilization messages resulted in an increase in throughput of thereceived data; and decreases the quality of service threshold if thetransmission of the set of resource utilization messages resulted in adecrease or substantially no change in throughput of the received data.54. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the means for adapting limits theadaptation of the quality of service threshold to thereby preventtransmission of resource utilization messages at a frequency that isgreater than a defined frequency or to prevent the quality of servicethreshold from being adapted beyond a defined minimum value or a definedmaximum value.
 55. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the means foradapting adapts the quality of service threshold based on a frequency atwhich the set of resource utilization messages were transmitted.
 56. Theapparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for adapting: decreases thequality of service threshold if the frequency increases; and increasesthe quality of service threshold if the frequency decreases.
 57. Theapparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for adapting adapts the qualityof service threshold in a different manner for different types oftraffic.
 58. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein: different relationshipsbetween resource utilization message threshold levels and resourceutilization message frequencies are defined for different types oftraffic; and the means for adapting adapts the quality of servicethreshold based on one of the defined relationships associated with oneof the different types of traffic.
 59. The apparatus of claim 58,wherein the means for adapting adapts each of the defined relationshipsbased on a change in quality of service associated with a correspondingone of the different types of traffic.
 60. The apparatus of claim 55,wherein: different quality of service requirements are associated withdifferent types of traffic; and the means for adapting adapts thequality of service threshold based on one of the different quality ofservice requirements.
 61. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein: the meansfor adapting adapts the quality of service threshold based on at leastone message received by a first wireless node from a second wirelessnode; and the at least one message relates to the set of resourceutilization messages.
 62. The apparatus of claim 61, further comprisingmeans for associating the first wireless node with the second wirelessnode to receive data from the second wireless node; wherein the set ofresource utilization messages comprises resource utilization messagesreceived by the second wireless node.
 63. The apparatus of claim 62,wherein the at least one message relates to at least one of the groupconsisting of: a quantity of the resource utilization messages receivedby the second wireless node and weights associated with the resourceutilization messages received by the second wireless node.
 64. Theapparatus of claim 62, wherein the means for adapting: decreases thequality of service threshold if there has been an increase in a trendrelating to the resource utilization messages received by the secondwireless node during a defined period of time or during a defined numberof timeslots; and increases the quality of service threshold if therehas been a decrease in a trend relating to the resource utilizationmessages received by the second wireless node during the defined periodof time or during the defined number of timeslots.
 65. The apparatus ofclaim 61, wherein: the first wireless node and the second wireless nodeare not currently associated; the at least one received messagecomprises the set of resource utilization messages; and the set ofresource utilization messages indicates that the second wireless node isa transmitting node contending for a wireless resource.
 66. Theapparatus of claim 65, wherein the means for adapting: decreases thequality of service threshold if there has been an increase in a trendrelating to a quantity of the set of resource utilization messages thatare received during a defined period of time or during a defined numberof timeslots; and increases the quality of service threshold if therehas been a decrease in a trend relating to a quantity of the set ofresource utilization messages that are received during the definedperiod of time or during the defined number of timeslots.
 67. Acomputer-program product for wireless communication, comprising: anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising codesexecutable to: adapt a quality of service threshold based on a set ofresource utilization messages from one or more devices in a wirelesscommunication system, wherein the set of resource utilization messagesrelate to quality of service of at least one of the one or more devices;and determine whether to transmit a resource utilization message basedon the quality of service threshold.
 68. An access point, comprising: anantenna; a threshold adapter configured to adapt a quality of servicethreshold based on a set of resource utilization messages from one ormore devices in a wireless communication system, wherein the set ofresource utilization messages relate to quality of service of at leastone of the one or more devices; and a transmission determiner configuredto determine whether to transmit a resource utilization message via theantenna based on the quality of service threshold.
 69. An accessterminal, comprising: a threshold adapter configured to adapt a qualityof service threshold based on a set of resource utilization messagesfrom one or more devices in a wireless communication system, wherein theset of resource utilization messages relate to quality of service of atleast one of the one or more devices; and a transmission determinerconfigured to determine whether to transmit a resource utilizationmessage based on the quality of service threshold; and a user interfaceconfigured to output an indication based on data received in conjunctionwith transmission of the resource utilization message.